The mine did not end.
It revealed something buried beneath it. The tunnel widened into a chamber far too deliberate to be natural. Stone walls were carved with precision, reinforced not for labor—but for containment. At the center stood a massive Aether stone, its surface fractured yet stable, pulsing with a slow, condensed glow that filled the entire space with pressure.
It wasn't just emitting Aether.
It was feeding something.
Broken laboratory equipment surrounded it. Tables overturned. Glass containers shattered across the ground, their contents long gone.
Labels remained.
01… 02… 03… up to 06.
Empty.
Renn Valehart stepped forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he took in the chamber. Something about the Aether here felt… controlled.
Then—
The smell hit. Stronger than before. Rotten and heavy. Taren Veylor exhaled sharply.
"…It's coming from here."
A shift in the air followed. Five figures emerged from the dim edges of the chamber.
Humanoids
They moved at once.
One dashed forward, straight toward Taren. He reacted instantly, his body flowing into motion as Pulse surged through his legs. He twisted away at the last second, the blade passing close enough to cut air against his skin.
"…Too fast—!"
It didn't stop. It turned immediately. Precise. Relentless.
Kael stepped in. Kael Draven met the next strike head-on. Steel clashed against Aether. A sharp, controlled impact rang through the chamber.
He pushed harder. Expecting the weapon to break, but it didn't. His grin faded.
"…That should've snapped."
Across from him, Lio Vance moved with calculated precision.
Astra Art: Linear Severance
A perfect strike. The blade met its mark, and stopped. The Aether coating around the humanoid's weapon absorbed the impact completely, dispersing the force without collapse.
Lio stepped back immediately.
"…That's not normal reinforcement," he said. "It's unnaturaly stabilized."
Seris vanished. Seris Valenne reappeared behind one of them.
Veil Art: Silent Execution
Her rapier pierced cleanly through its torso. A lethal strike. The humanoid did not react. Its body twisted unnaturally, counterattacking without hesitation.
Seris withdrew instantly.
"…They're not reacting to damage," she said.
At the center, Renn engaged. His dagger formed in golden light. Lumindelle responded instantly. A strike, clean and direct. The clash sent a sharp vibration through his arm.
Renn's eyes narrowed.
It didn't break. Even Malveris' condensed defenses had shattered under pressure.
Yet these held.
Behind them, Taren moved. He didn't fight, instead he ran frantically. The humanoid followed him without hesitation, matching every turn, every shift in direction. It didn't slow. It didn't tire. It simply adjusted.
"…Why are you still moving like that…?" Taren muttered as he pushed further, forcing distance between himself and the others.
He reached the tunnel. Crossed the threshold. The humanoid followed. And collapsed instantly. No struggle. It dropped like an empty shell.
Taren froze.
"…Hahah, it stopped. Wait, it stopped?…"
He crouched, examining it quickly. There was no internal Aether flow. No circulation.
"…It's not generating power…"
His gaze snapped back toward the chamber.
"…It's being supplied."
He stood and ran back inside. He saw Renn and others busy fighting with the humanoids.
"They're being powered externally!" he shouted. "They don't have Aether cores—the crystal is feeding them directly!"
The others adjusted instantly.
"Now that explains a lot," Renn said.
Kael moved first.
Blade Art: Tyrant Breaker
His blade struck the ground. A violent force shattered the stone beneath the humanoids' footing. They staggered. Their movement disrupted.
"Now," Renn ordered.
Lio and Seris moved. Ropes snapped tight around their limbs. Restricting the motion of the humanoids. Controlling their form.
"Pull them out!"
Together, they dragged the humanoids toward the tunnel. Step by step, forcing them across the boundary. The moment they crossed, they collapsed.
All four.
Lifeless.
Then, a voice echoed.
"…Remarkable."
A man stepped forward from the shadows. Calm and composed.
"…To think you would understand the system so quickly."
His eyes gleamed with interest.
"I am Doctor Maleth."
He gestured toward the fallen bodies.
"What do you think of my work? Isn't it impressive?"
No one moved.
"They are this village corpses," he continued. "You see, I managed to revived them using my genius idea. Giving a new life to dead men. That is my greatest gift for this pitiful village."
He smiled.
"Unfortunately, you killed them. You're all evil."
Renn's gaze sharpened. Taren suddenly snapped. " You are the evil one. You kidnapped those miners for your experiments."
"It doesn't matter," Maleth said. " They are already in death's door when I found them."
"The village should be grateful, you should be grateful," Maleth added. "This crystal gave them new life," turning slightly toward it, "this acts as a central supply. It feeds Aether directly into the vessels—bypassing the need for a core."
He stepped closer.
"The body does not need to live. It only needs to respond."
A pause.
"And with proper reinforcement—". He lifted his hand slightly. "Aether can stabilize even decay."
Lio's eyes narrowed.
"…That's not stabilization."
Maleth smiled faintly. "…No. It's control."
His hand moved to his chest. A glow formed beneath his skin.
"…Through countless trials and errors, I have perfected the version of a superhuman. Let me show you my years of efforts, lads. Prepare to be my first guinea pigs for my new power..."
Before anyone could react, he drove his hand into his chest, forcing a crystal inward.
The surge was immediate. Violent. His body twisted, bones cracking, muscles swelling. Something else emerged.
A beast.
It moved instantly. Faster than before, stronger but unstable.
But Taren didn't retreat. He met it.
Pulse Art— Break Pulse
The attack grazed past him as he forced himself into its range, ignoring the danger, closing the distance with reckless precision.
"You must pay for what you've done—!"
His blade clashed against the hardened Aether layer coating the doctor's body.
Clang.
"Left them to rot—!"
Another strike.
Faster.
Harder.
"Turn them into monsters—!"
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each blow heavier than the last—not calculated, not clean—driven by something far less controlled.
The doctor adjusted.
Its second arm formed into another blade, striking downward in a precise, surgical motion.
Taren barely blocked the attack. He was thrown away and slammed his body. Unconscious.
Another incoming strike...
Kael and Lio stepped in together. Blades raised. They blocked. But the force pushed them back.
"…Renn!" Kael shouted.
On the side, Renn Valehart moved. He dashed forward, faster than before. He aimed directly for the chest. The dagger drove forward—
Clang.
The impact stopped him. Renn's eyes widened slightly. The blade had struck but did not pierce. The skin was too tough and reinforced.
The beast laughed. A distorted, uneven sound.
"…Did you think it would be that simple?" the doctor's voice echoed through the monstrous form.
Renn stepped back slightly, eyes fixed.
"You've seen it, haven't you?" the doctor continued. "The stability. The reinforcement. The perfection of controlled Aether."
He took a step forward. "And yet—you still use it like a brute."
Kael frowned. "…The hell is he talking about?"
The doctor's gaze locked onto Renn. "You cannot pierce me," the doctor continued. "Because your Aether is unstable."
He raised his arm slightly. "Mine does not."
Another attack.
Renn tightened his grip. His mind replayed the clash.
The weapons.
The humanoids.
The flow.
Stable and consistent.
He looked at his dagger. At the faint glow around it. Then at his own arm.
"I've been pushing it too hard, forcing it outward…"
Kael blocked another strike, gritting his teeth. "Renn! Anytime now—!"
Lio shifted beside him. "…He gets stronger. We won't hold long."
Renn inhaled slowly.
The doctor stepped closer. "You cannot break what you do not understand," he said.
Renn's eyes narrowed. It wasn't about force. It was about how Aether moved. Not outward. But within. Through every fiber of the muscle. Every strand of the hair. Every motion of the bloodstream.
He felt it.
The flow.
The control.
The stability.
Renn inhaled slowly. Then, Something shifted. Into the dagger. A stable aura formed.
Kael saw it. "…That's new…"
Lio's gaze sharpened. "…Is that how it's supposed to be used?"
"Hold him," Renn said.
They stepped forward again, blocking the next strike. Renn moved.
Aether Art: Piercing Collapse
A single, precise thrust.
The dagger pierced through the beast's chest. Straight into the crystal, then it shattered. The force carried through. Striking the massive Aether stone behind.
Crack—
The beast fell. Renn stood alone. Unshaken.
He looked at his hand. At the dagger. No instability. No loss.
"…So this is control…"